Rodriguez SS Romero headed to Sac State

FAIRFIELD — After three seasons on the diamond at Rodriguez High, Boston Romero has his immediate future taken care of.

Romero, a senior infielder for the Mustangs, still has a whole high school season left, but he signed his letter of intent to attend Sacramento State University on Wednesday at the Rodriguez High library.

It was a great moment for the hard-working Romero, who started at shortstop and batted in the leadoff spot for the Mustangs last year when they won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship.

“Just proud to be a Hornet right now, decide to move on to the next level,” Romero said. “I still have a year to cover here, try to win another section title, but I am really excited about the future.”

That future is bright for Romero, who can just concentrate on school and baseball for the remainder of his senior year.

He said Sac State contacted him after his sophomore year and was his only real serious suitor, which worked out just fine.

“I just wanted to stay local was the main thing, get a chance to have my parents come see me every now and then,” Romero said. “My brother (Domenick) is out in Kansas (at Friends University) now and I don’t get to see him that often – just give them a chance to go watch some ball every now and then.”

Romero said there were some other schools expressing interest, but Sac State was his first choice.

And why not?

He’s spent the last three years staring at the Sacramento campus while playing in the SJS Division III playoffs, part of which are held at Dan McAuliffe Ballpark across the street from the university.

“Definitely a blessing right now. Just thanking God right now,” Romero said. “I’ve definitely been looking at (Sac State’s nearby) field, waiting for my chance to play on it. I finally get the chance to next year.”

Mustangs coach Jason Chatham couldn’t be happier for Romero, especially given that he’s one of a number of Rodriguez players to move on to the next level.

“It’s fantastic. It’s the players putting in the hard work,” Chatham said. “As a coach that’s what you want, you want the players to come in and be willing to put in the work.”

Romero is also the second player in as many years to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship – right-hander Jesse Scholtens is a freshman at Arizona this year.

Chatham knew he had a special player on his hands early on, bringing Romero up to the varsity level for his defense when he was still a freshman.

A bit undersized, it was just a matter of whether Romero would get big enough to play at the Division I level.

“Boston Romero is a four-year varsity guy and he’s played the game hard for us for four years,” Chatham said. “A lot of people today talked about what he’s done off the field and I’ve never seen anybody with the work ethic that he has off the field.”

That work ethic helped Romero keep up not only with baseball stuff, but with his studies, helping him to land at the Division I level.

When he addressed the gathering of family, friends, coaches and teammates on Wednesday, Romero thanked his parents for keeping on him about school and for their support.

With one more season at Rodriguez, Romero knows there are more memories to be made, especially with Rodriguez’s shift into the Monticello Empire League and to Division I for postseason play.

So far, the highlight of his prep career is an easy one.

“Definitely the section title. The dog pile at the pitcher’s mound was icing on the cake right there,” he said.

Romero had a big hand in that win, going 2 for 3 with an RBI double.

He may also have a chance to make an impact right away at Sac State as well.

“They want me to play second and third (base), so I have a chance at starting my freshman year,” he said.

Reach Mike Corpos at 427-69798, or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter..com/mcorposdr.